It
is an honour and great privilege for me to welcome
you today to this function, the celebration of the 34th annual
recognition, of the impact members of the ethnic press and media, and
also, members of the ethnic communities, have on the Canadian society.

Today’s
celebration is the recognition of their considerable contributions to our
democracy and also to multicultural fabric of our society.

Today we
salute their contributions and recognize their struggles for human rights,
for equal opportunities, for peace and understanding among the Canadian
communities and the world, and also for justice and respect for all
humanity.

Today, we
are celebrating the best of our cultures and the men and women dedicated
themselves in the service of the dignity of man.

The true
spirit of citizenship in the high Athenian sense of democracy, which,
compels a man to live his life within the understanding that the rich in
diverse cultures society of a truly civilized state, allows to its
citizens to choose their own ways to achieve success in good spirit,
without hurting their neighbors.

As we pay
reverence to the past but also recognize the need of the same direction
for the future. Because it said that democracy cannot succeed, unless
those who express their concerns express them wisely.

With their
outstanding efforts we managed to bring change and progress in our
society, in order to prevent any form of oppression, injustice or hat5red,
which is a wedge designed to attack on our peace-loving Canadian society.

Our
democratic system has conferred on all of us an inestimable gift of
individual liberty within the law. We are vitally concerned with
preserving the high standards of international restrain, culture and
morality.

In an era
other communities witness daily instability, frustration and force; we
remain united and dedicated to freedom and respect of the law.

Our ideals
are democracy and equality, freedom, brotherhood and equal opportunities
to all our citizens. Our instrument is honor and friendship. This is the
role and the work of this organization to increase understanding among the
various cultural communities.

We encourage
co-operation, and co-operation means discipline. Discipline in the meaning
of working together, in a way that many minds, each one of them preserving
independent judgment and formation of opinion work in such way to beat
individual differences and personal plans in order to attain common
objectives accepted and understand by all.

Furthermore
we do believe that these are eternal principles we try to preserve.

Our,
therefore is the responsibility of defending these principles if we want
to survive the test and challenges of the time, and more passing them on
to all the generations yet to come.

Another
point is the fact that we should feel real satisfaction in the common
knowledge that it is possible in the Dominion of Canada to establish a
newspaper in the language of your preference and to enjoy freedom of
expression which is guaranteed by the Canadian chapter of Rights, and also
supported financially by the government of the country.

It is our,
therefore, the duty and responsibility to see that these papers hold to
the highest ideals of truth, justice and fair play for the creation of
wholesome relationships among the various cultural, religious and racial
groups of the Canadian cultural mosaic.

This is
rather a very serious element of a healthy democracy, as the constant free
flow of news and ideas among us, enabling the interchange of ideas and
helps the formation of the need for peace and understanding among our
communities.

We are most
grateful to you, Your Honour, for hosting this event. It is the fourth
year that you have extended to us this courtesy and the seventh by your
office, something that we really appreciate.

By doing
this, you have not only honopured our organization but also the entire
ethnic communities of Canada.

We are also
grateful to you, Your Honour, for this gesture of encouragement and
support You provide, by hosting this ceremony for the presentation of the
Awards.

We are also
thankful to Your staff, this wonderful group of civil servants, for their
support and enthusiasm in organizing this event.

At this
point, please allow me to name Pater Aylan-Parker and Ms. Glenda Milrod,
the coordinators of tonight’s event and also Asha Rajak, our executive
director, for their efforts.

Your
presence here today also signifies Your concerns, care and recognition of
the social realities and trends of this great country of ours and also the
importance of the ethnic communities in the Canadian multicultural mosaic.

We are also
thankful to government of Ontario and the members of the Legislative
Assembly of the province for their support. Special thanksto Hon. Dr. Eric Hoskins, the young scientist and humanitarian who
turn politician, the man who dedicated his life and career in the service
of the fellow citizens and those sick and in need, and also a friend and
supporter of our organization. Thank you also to Hon. Jim Karygiannis for
his support and presence in tonight’s celebration.

By
recognizing this evening’s recipients we are acknowledge our
appreciation for what they have done so far and at the same time wish them
luck and encourage them to continue these efforts in the future.

Finally, I
want to express our gratitude to all participants in today’s ceremony,
as they contributed the most to success of this event, with their
presence.

We earnestly
hope that our organization will forge ahead to greater accomplishments and
achieve the most working together and using our collective influence.

I am happy
and proud to report to You, Your Honour, that this organization is, the
only one of its kind in the world,- recognized as the representative of
all the foreign language media in the country, the federal and provincial
government.

Finally I
want to express my gratitude and the one of our members for the help and
support we are receiving over the period of time from Yourself and Your
office.

Thank you
all the participants in tonight’s celebration and congratulations to all
our honorees.